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They were stacked thick today. Could do no wrong.Followed the school around for a couple hours. Probably caught 100. Sorted thru lots of small fish. Gills perch, bass, and a lone crappie

This will hopefully be a mid-summer tradition, a thread that covers lures that you've had success and failures with. This thread may introduce people to new lures that they've never tried before that they may try that will bring them success. People can also talk about lures that didn't work for them and perhaps others can give tips and hints on how to make that lure work better for them. I'll start with what has and has not worked for me. Boom Lures: Whopper Plopper: My new favorite lure. This lure is incredible. It casts super far, has amazingly sharp hooks (which is why I think so many people have the rear hooks foul hooking fish), attracts fish from far and wide, covers water fast, works well in calm and rough waters, catches fish consistently in all weather conditions. I love topwater, I'd rather catch 1 fish topwater if I had to miss 3 fish regular. My old favorite lure was the KVD Sexy Dawg, however, the Whopper Plopper has taken that top slot because it just so effective and is easy to use. All you need to do is cast it out and reel it in. You can go from extremely slow to extremely fast and catch fish on the splashdown, you can also stop and go which you can't do with a buzzbait. It is just so versatile. The KVD Sexy Dawg was great but was limited to calm water to mostly calm water and didn't cover water nearly as fast because you need to walk the dog with it. The WP can cover so much water in such a short time period it is a great search lure but will also bring fish in from far away. It is basically a far more versatile buzzbait. One of the problem's I've always had with buzzbaits is that because of their lightweight you can't cast them as far as a heavier lure, well, the Whopper Plopper solves this problem being able to be cast a country mile and also has variable speed, the ability to catch on splashdown, more hooks for short striking fish so you don't need a stinger hook, and the ability to be effective in larger waves and rough water. I think the 130 is too big for anything I do and the 110 works fine until I get into areas that have weeds that are just under the surface and the Whopper Plopper 110 goes too deep on splashdown and catches weeds, in that scenario I use the WP 90 because it doesn't sink so deep into the water on splashdown. Although the 90 doesn't seem to make nearly as much of a Whopper Plopper sound it has caught fish just as well. Teckel Sprinker Frog: The only downside to the Whopper Plopper is that it is not weedless. And with it being mid-summer lake weeds have had time to grow up from the bottom and reach the surface. This has made the Whopper Plopper the wrong lure for the job. But what if you want a Whopper Plopper/buzzbait style action but don't want to catch weeds on every cast? There used to be no solution. Now you have it, the Teckel Sprinker Frog. I actually haven't gotten my hands on the a real Teckel Sprinker Frog, but my homemade ones have been killing it. I've used a Spro and Livetarget frog and also a Snagproof Phat Frog. I caught a lot of fish initially but am now having problem getting the lure to plane quickly and it is being dragged in subsurface for about the first 10 feet. I'm hoping using a ball bearing swivel over a regular swivel will resolve this problem. However, the homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog has proven to be a winner, similar to the Whopper Plopper but the added bonus of being weedless. I have not lost a lot of fish on it in open water and I think the reason for that is is because it is being retrieved pretty quickly when the fish hit it they are immediately hooked. It can also be reeled in a lot faster than a regular frog that has to be walked the dog retrieved and because of this it can cover a lot more ground quickly. It also works well in rough water and open water, something that isn't a strong point for regular frogs. Another benefit is that it merely needs to be reeled in to catch fish wherein a regular frog normally has to be walked the dog which can be extremely hard to learn for some folks and I myself still cannot get a frog to walk the dog. Can't wait to get my order of real Teckel Sprinker Frogs see if they work better than the homemade version. Bust Lures: Ned Rig: I wanted the Ned Rig to work so bad, but it just hasn't worked for me. Despite using a weedless version it catches a ton of weeds and doesn't catch any fish that a CPS nosehooked Zoom Super Fluke or Wacky Rigged Senko can't catch under docks or out in the open in weeded areas. I've tried giving it time and popping it off the bottom or dragging it but it just catches a lot of weeds. I have caught some fish with it but it definitely isn't a presentation that I will be using in the weeds under docks. Whopper Plopper hooks are sharp! Prime Whopper Plopper 110 area with weeds well underneath the surface: Prime Whopper Plopper 90 area with weeds just underneath the surface: Prime Tekel Sprinker Frog area with weeds either just under the surface or on the surface: Homemade Teckel Sprinker Frog fish: So, for 2017, what lures for you have been Boom or Bust?

Longer than 2 hrs

Usually I will just keep going. If I'm on the kayak and planned to fish for 6hrs then I will stay out until something works. If it's a ridiculous struggle I will throw some small jigs and catch panfish to try and forget about the beating.

I just saw this today. Dicks sells the Pflueger President spinning reels for $59.99 normally. They have them on sale for $49.99 right now plus Pflueger has a $10 rebate going on right now. Dicks has that listed on their website right now too, so they should have the forms printable online and on paper in the stores. Using the rebate makes the reel cost $39.99 Anytime you go in a Dicks store and buy anything there is a customer survey mentioned on the back of the receipt. The person behind the register is supposed to mention it to you. I always go in the store and buy a Jawbone brand jig for like $3.00. I use them to fish with and as a casting plug. I also use that receipt to go online and fill out that survey. I then print out the $10 off coupon that the survey gives as a thank you. By doing this, that $59.99 reel would end up costing you $29.99 right now. Not bad for a very reliable spinning reel. If you have an old reel that has seen better days, or you are thinking about a new setup this should help keep the cost down and still give you a 9 ball bearing reel.

Boom lures this year . Berkely Dredgers 10.5 and 14.5 Original Wiggle Wart - Day and Night Luck E Strike 6 inch Twirl tail worms Manns 6&8 inch Jelly worms Homemade buzzbait - Day and night Strike King Midnight special - Night hours Bust lures Soft swimbaits Spinnerbaits during the day Chatterbaits . I have yet to catch a fish on a chatterbait . What was the one thing?

Like Catt said so succinctly, longer than 2 hours as long as there are some signs of life somewhere on the water. If it is a polluted mess with 55 gallon drums of radioactive waste in the shallows and a guy named Guido dumping a body on the North shore, I may leave a bit sooner...

I fish as long as my back allows me . Usually 8 to 12 hours even if the fishing is bad . Sometimes it takes all day to figure things out .

Just gotta push through it. Today I had an 8 hour day with 2 bites...

Apparently you don't want to share the light... oe

I don't like experimenting with every little thing that comes out. I tend to stay within my comfort level. However, if a bait keeps getting rave reviews on here I'll pick one up and try it at a local pond or canal. So far this year there are 2 that I tried and would consider a bust for me...a small underspin (Clayton, don't feel alone ) and the ned rig. I'll keep trying to make the underspin work but forget the Ned. Mike

I don't work for "discounts".

Yes, way underspooled. Go outside and pull it all off in the yard or down the sidewalk (yes, your neighbors will look at you funny - lol), then add some mono or other cheap line on the empty spool as backing, then connect the lines together and rewind all the braid back on until full.

Welcome! I think you might be best off with the foam style with mesh straps. They're cooler, but you also don't have to worry about him being able to get the thing to inflate like a manual or auto inflate PFD.

This topic made me think of this video instantly. I've always made it a habit to close my bail manually, even before seeing this video. But this just reinforces the benefit of closing your bail by hand.

I fished 2 different lakes this past week, one being a clearer deep weedline lake and the other a dark lake with a much shallower weedline. Tuesday we fished weedlines at 14 fow on various offshore structure - needed to be hard bottom out to 16-17fow. One rod day - t-rigged culprit junebug worm on a pegged 3/8 oz sinker. Lots of fish caught with 19" being the biggest. Wednesday we fished league night on the darker water. Much tougher. Our best spot only gave up 2 small keepers. We moved around to a few other spots, staying mostly under 7 fow around shallow weeds fishing reeeal slow with weightless wacky dingers and got a couple more. Then we went to a deeper spot (7-10 fow) with no weeds and caught all the fish we ended up weighing in. They preferred a ned rig instead of a black trick worm on a jig head. Notched our first win with 12 1/2 lbs.

With my fingers

I really don't know how they got into the lake, we have a few places in VA that have Kentucky strain spots, but these fish are way different and after going to Lay Lake I can confirm that they are definitely the Alabama strain. Someone must have done a lot of work because as far as I know, Lake Norman is the closest lake with those particular fish. My brother and I got on a really spectacular bite fishing Carolina rigs on points and drop offs. Strange that we caught them that way, it was raining like crazy and blowing 15mph so you would think the fish would be looking for a moving bait. The lake mainly has largemouth, we caught lots of those today, and 6 spotted bass. Our best 5 today went 14lbs. Spotted bass sure are an interesting creature! "Bycatch"

Simply modify your Texas rig to include a shirt and you'll have what you're looking for A-Jay

What was the one thing? It was a 3.8 Keitech Fat. Something about it balanced them out perfectly so they didn't roll but was small enough that it could stay down deep, but soft enough that it had plenty of action on a slow retrieve. It was just the perfect bait for the heads we were using and it made all the difference in the world.

PanfishBass You are correct that the internet has an influence for sure. However you must realize Bass Pro competes not just in its brick and mortar stores but online and with phone in orders as well. Bass Pro started changing its inventory as Bass Pro started copying everyone's lures and selling them under their own name. They then started slowly lowering their inventory of other brand's lures. This also coinsided with buying Ranger Triton, and Stratos boats which was done partially to consume the competition. I am not trying to start debate over that, but it plays into the cash flow available to stock other brands within Johnny's empire. Perhaps the additional cash held up over the Cabelas purchase was a major impact as well. That merger has been held up for quite a while, mostly due to legal issues and the US Government approval.

I'm fishing a 6'8" Medium Power/ Fast Action rod with a soft tip. The reel is an Aldebaran spooled with #12 Sunline Shooter Defier Armilo.

I know my BPS has, as of my last visit the other month, Diawa, Shimano, Pflueger in casting and spinning... Used to make weekly trips down to the Hampton, VA Bass Pro, but over the past few years those trips have trailed off to a few times a quarter, or year. For one, I'm not able to get out fishing as much as I'd like, and two, I'm trying to keep purchases to a minimum except for bait/tackle replenishment. That said, the general atmosphere of BPS seems to have changed, and not necessarily for the better. Can't quite put my finger on it but you know how a new Walmart is great for the first couple years, then it starts ... getting stale, run down? Maybe its just me that has changed.

Another Chicago boy here. For me the Wacky Rig seems to work almost every time and has kept me from being skunked, and hollow body frogs have been my go to with a lot of success all summer since I fish a lot of water with tons of weeds. I've caught something on just about everything in my tacklebox but have not caught a single thing on any spinner baits this year. Pictured bass was on a Wacky rig, from shore while I waited for a birthday party to start....

I've accumulated so much lead over the years, I'll use them when throwing a moving plastic such as a Speed Worm. But for anything on the bottom, I only use tungsten. To answer you question, when throwing the standard size I'll start with a 3/16, but on the magnums which I throw much more often, either an 1/8 or weightless. Mike

They've all become a bit disappointing. I used to try to fit in a BPS or Cabela's trip into my infrequent fishing holidays Stateside, and this summer, I was flying into Ottawa, the flight was arriving in the evening and I decided to get a hotel for the night so I could go to Cabelas before heading off to the lake a couple of hours away. Let's just say I won't be doing that again! Cabela's in Canada was an even bigger disappointment than the ailing Gander mountain in Syracuse I went to last time! A very small range of branded products and very poorly stocked shelves. I suppose they're running the inventory down ahead of the sell off, but really? Hardly worth keeping the doors open. 10 or more years ago it was an extraordinary experience going into a BPS, Cabelas or Gander for someone from Europe. Now either I'm jaded, which is entirely possible, or they are a shadow of their former selves. It used to be a day out, but now it's a slightly frustrating let down.

I'm one of the old weirdos that still throw lead!

The BPS in canada had tatula rods last year, not sure if they still carry it

Lonesome Dove, twice.I've seen the movie a bunch.

Like A-Jay said, an original floating Rapala, I like the #7 for river smallies, in gold/black back twitched down a seam equals smallie on the hook most anytime.

Purple Haze, one of my favorite colors that doesn't seem to get any love, and I'm okay with that

Let the mat dictate your weight. I usually start off with 3/4 and go to 1 1/2 oz. After a while you'll be able to narrow it down by just looking at it. Start at the ouside of the mat and work your way in paying special attention to any change. ..hydrilla mixed with blown over reeds, areas where submerged emergent vegetation meet topped out floating ones, holes etc. I use 65# power pro with a double bobber stop, h/xf rod with micro guides. Favorite plastics are a Sweet Beaver or a Pit Boss. Mike

Been fishing mostly for peacock bass lately and I just had one of the best fishing trips today. Caught a bunch of peacocks today, with the biggest 2 being a +5 pounder and a giant +6.5 pounder. Also caught lots of nice quality sized largemouth as bycatch while fishing for peacock bass. Man do I love fishing in South Florida!

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ Checkout the Sebile Stick Shadd and the Rapala X-Rap Sub Walk ~ Both subtle & effective and may suit your needs. A-Jay

Fluke-type bait rigged EWG weedless is great in smaller streams and rivers. Basically, it works any time you're fishing smallies in current!

If you were to buy more heads, I would recommend the 1/20 and 1/15 ounce sizes, but for now 1/10 would probably work OK. If there is solid hydrilla, you're definitely going to have to swim it, and lighter heads make it easier to keep it up.

"Three more payments and this net is finally all mine . . . ." A-Jay

I graphed and fished a little yesterday. Found huge schools of whites and blacks mixed together. Could have caught enough fish to sink a boat. No real big size, but never targeted big fish, we were having too much fun catching numbers. We found fish from 15-30'

Remember that he's dealing with not only the current but also the drifting of the canoe. Twice the movement.

Buts it's on Instagram... not YouTube... how can I be a master bass fishing star without YouTube???

Crush the barb down...

Every rigging technique will work just fine, you just need more weight. This time of year I am fishing a 10" Rage Tail Thumper using a 1/2 oz bullet in VERY heavy current on the Tennessee River without any issues.

You didn't read my long post on how to fish a weedless worm or Senko, so can't help you any further until you take a few minutes and watch Glenn's instructional video's how to rig Texas rig plastic worm. Video's are located at the top of the forum. Everyone has responded to the title of your thread, not recognizing you are a novice angler asking the wrong question, should be "How do you catch bass?" Tom

Thought I was lucky until I read this statement

Kind of in limbo as boatless bank trash at the moment, but banked 15 little chunks in 75 minutes after work the other day despite the post frontal clearing skies, stained water and 15 mph NNE winds.

My goto for the last couple yrs Hooks: 2/0-3/0 straight shank round bend Weights: 1/64-1/4 depending on rate of fall; most often used 1/8 oz. Ya can cast, flip, pitch, or buzz it on top even when weighted.

This LC RC 1.5 is my Legendary Bait. I have hundreds of bass on this bait. I've gone swimming after hanging this bait up. Once waded in up to my waist in the Shenendoah at Thanksgiving weekend to retrieve it.

This vintage Rogers Big Jim is the most successful crankbait I ever used. Sadly I lost this one in a tree but was lucky enough to have an identical one . I picked the two up at an antique store . They dont have a lot action , no rattle but they "hunt" . One day the bass were taking it so deeply that I was spending more time unhooking fish than fishing . I switched to another brand and caught more bass because they were caught on the back hook and easily removed .

Easily The Luckiest Day of my Life And so has Every Single Day Since. A-Jay